Ferreira tosses 4 TDs in Sayville win
Sayville quarterback Steven Ferreira looks for room against Westhampton in the Suffolk County high school Division III football game. (Sept. 23, 2011) Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The rain in Westhampton stopped just in time for Steven Ferreira to begin his own aerial onslaught.
The Sayville third-year quarterback effectively dampened the Hurricanes' pristine season Friday, throwing for four touchdowns as the Golden Flashes defeated Westhampton, 32-18, in Suffolk III and remained undefeated after three games.
"This is a big-play sheet," coach Robert Hoss said, indicating Sayville's intricate list of offensive plays. "With him, the entire playbook is open."
Ferreira, who seamlessly navigated his high-flying spread offense through the Westhampton defense, completing 14 of 23 passes for 261 yards, quickly showed what has made him one of the most formidable quarterbacks in Suffolk.
Four minutes into the game, he hit Tom Hannan on a slant for a 66-yard touchdown. It was the lightning that preceded the thunder, as Ferreira was directly responsible for all but one of Sayville's scores. Zachary Sirico's 5-yard run with 8:24 left in the game gave the Golden Flashes a 26-10 lead.
"It's the passion that we play with," Ferreira said about the key to Sayville's quick start.
There is, of course, another key. "I have more experience [now]," he said. Then, with a glance at the notes strapped to his wrist: "I know the plays like the back of my hand."
It was enough to neutralize the one-man show of Westhampton fullback-linebacker Dan Gomez. With Sayville threatening on third-and-6 at the Westhampton 30, Gomez pancaked Sirico for a gain of 1. A play later, Ferreira hit Matthew Starr for 4 yards, just shy of the first down. On the first play of the ensuing possession, Gomez took the handoff from Jack Murphy and ran 72 yards for a touchdown to tie the score at 7.
In case you were wondering: Gomez, the kicker, nailed the extra point, too.
That was the closest Westhampton would get. Sayville scored on the next possession -- a five-play, 1:58 drive that culminated in Ferreira's 12-yard pass to Starr, who broke a tackle and took it up the left sideline for a 14-7 lead.
Gomez's 26-yard field goal with 4:19 to go in the half brought the Hurricanes to within four. But Ferreira added two more TDs, the last one a 10-yard pass to Starr with 1:42 to play. The rain started again around that time, but the deluge had finally ended.
